


But What If

by shadowhunterlightwood



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cutesy, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6583783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowhunterlightwood/pseuds/shadowhunterlightwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another Tumblr prompt: Alec is getting a lot of attention from both Jace and Magnus and doesn't know what to do with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But What If

It had been mere weeks since Alec had called off his wedding, and things had certainly taken a turn. Being with Magnus was all new to him, but a new that he liked, and a new that he certainly wanted to explore further. Right now he was lying on Magnus’ couch, his head on his boyfriend’s lap. Alec looked at his watch and frowned, getting up from his position on the couch.

“I gotta go, Jace needs me.” Alec grabbed his bag and looked over at Magnus, who had a disappointed look on his face; he always got like this whenever he had to leave.  “Hey, it’s only for a few hours.” Alec leaned in and pressed his forehead against Magnus’, holding the back of his neck. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Magnus nodded, pretending not to look annoyed. It seemed like every time Jace wanted something, Jace got it. It had always been like that between the two, at least from Magnus’ point of view that’s what it seemed like.

“It’s fine. I’ll be here when you return.” Magnus gave a quick peck to his boyfriend’s lips and nodded.

\--

Jace was in the training room when Alec arrived, and he put down his bag as he looked at his parabatai, not being able to help that feeling he got whenever he looked at Jace. He knew he shouldn’t still feel like this, what with being with Magnus and all, but he couldn’t help how Jace made him feel whenever they locked eyes. It was probably something that would always be there, even when Alec didn’t always acknowledge it.

“Hey.” Jace stopped what he was doing and walked over to his friend, the sweat dripped down his face. The boy had always been stunning; slicked back blonde hair, a body to die for, and his heterochromia in his eyes that made him stand out. Of course, to Alec he would always stand out.

“Let me guess, you were at Magnus’?” Jace looked at his parabatai and gave him a forced smile. Within the few weeks that had gone by since the wedding Jace seemed to be happy for him, but a part of Alec felt like he was being torn in two. Whenever Jace wanted him for something it seemed like Magnus needed him for something to do, and vice versa. He almost felt like the two of them were fighting over him for his attention and affection, but Alec always brushed it off as paranoia. He wasn’t used to getting this much attention and it seemed like ever since he had kissed Magnus that suddenly Jace needed him for everything.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”  Alec raised his eyebrows, challenging his parabatai. It seemed like a good a time as any to have a fight, and even though he hated fighting with Jace, a part of him kind of liked it.

“It’s nothing.” Jace shook his head; Alec knew he was holding back and he just wanted to push him, if only a little.

“Okay, whatever.” Alec shrugged his shoulders and sighed, going over to the punching bag. He knew that if he brushed it off and acted like nothing was wrong then that would just make Jace want to tell him even more.

Jace followed him, leaning against the opposite wall, his hands behind his back.

“Okay, it is something. I just feel like…” He trailed off, unsure of how to word it. “I just feel like none of us exist ever since you kissed Magnus. Like he’s all that matters, and yeah I know that Mom is pissed at you but that doesn’t mean you can just disappear off the face of the Earth either.” Jace hated saying how he felt and it didn’t happen as often as it maybe should, but with Alec he always told him how he was feeling.

“Oh, is that all?” Alec scoffed, running his fingers through his dark hair. “I get what you mean, it’s just I feel like everyone stares at me whenever I’m here. Like I did something wrong or…” He bit his lip, stopping his sentence short. “I just want to get back to how things used to be, but at the same time, I don’t. I don’t want people to ignore what I did but I don’t want people to make a big deal out of it either.” For Alec, those were a lot of words. Just because he was the only Shadowhunter right now who was “out” didn’t mean he was the only one who was gay, and he hated feeling like he was the circus freak. He knew his friends didn’t care either way but not everyone was like Jace, Clary, or Izzy. The one thing that was really bothering him was that his mother still didn’t seem like she had accepted what he had done, or even that he liked Magnus. It seemed like Magnus was the bigger issue here, but he didn’t see why his mother had to care so much about his love life. It was his decision, and no one else’s. If he messed up then it was on him, and he would learn from his mistakes.

“I know, I know. Forget I brought it up, okay?” Jace didn’t want to fight with his parabatai, and he knew how insecure Alec could be sometimes; he was the same way himself.

A few hours later and the two of them were laughing and making jokes again, so it seemed like things had been repaired. When Alec got up to leave though, Jace’s face dropped.

“You’re leaving already?” It seemed like it had been mere minutes with Alec, even though they had spent a good part of the afternoon together.

“Yeah. I told Magnus I wouldn’t be gone long.” Alec picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder, looking over at his friend.  “You know, I could always ask if you could come over sometime. You two really need to get along.” He joked, and when Alec turned to leave he couldn’t see how torn up his parabatai was. The feelings he had for Alec were obvious to him, but it seemed like Alec truly had moved on from Jace. It was for the best, but he couldn’t help that if he had said something sooner or realized his feelings for him earlier, that maybe things would be different.

\--

Magnus and Alec were on the couch again, kissing. Alec was on top and he had his legs around Magnus, straddling him. His hands were winding their way through Magnus’ thick hair, and he tugged just a little and earned a small moan from Magnus underneath him. He kissed him harder and sighed; he could do this forever.

Magnus pushed him off of him and pushed him to the other side of the couch, crawling on top of his boyfriend. He had always been the dominant person in a relationship and this time was no different. He trailed kisses up Alec’s neck and heard another sigh escape the younger boy’s lips, and he grinned, but not before those dark thoughts entered his mind again. He pulled off of Alec and frowned.

“Do you want to be here?” Magnus asked, looking into Alec’s eyes. He knew Alec could sometimes be shy about his feelings and not always say what he was thinking, but Magnus needed to know. Believe it or not, the warlock could get insecure too.

“What? Of course I want to be here. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Alec sat up on his elbows and looked at Magnus, the one person who actually understood him more than he probably understood himself. He pecked his lips and smiled, trying to reassure him. He didn’t want Magnus to feel like he was second choice, which was far from the truth. “If you’re wondering about my feelings for Jace, you don’t need to worry. He’s my best friend and he’s my parabatai, but **you’re** my boyfriend. I don’t want to be anything more with Jace. I have you, and that’s all I want.”

Magnus nodded, kissing him back once more. “Good. Because you’re really starting to grow on me, Alexander.”

\--

Jace was looking through his drawers, trying to find his stele that he seemed to have misplaced yet again, when he found a photo hidden at the bottom of his drawer. He pulled it out and laughed to himself; it was a photo of him and Alec, probably a few years old. Alec had his arm around Jace and the two of them were laughing, and he sighed. Things had been much simpler back then, even for a Shadowhunter life. He put the photo back down and continued looking through his drawer, when he heard a tap at his door.

He was surprised to see it was Alec at his door when he opened it, but he was glad. It seemed the only time he got to see his friend was when he begged him to come over, and Jace hated seeming desperate.

“Surprised to see me? Well, I have to agree with what you said before. I should be here, doing what I do best. And even though people might stare, I’m okay with that. I have you, right?” Alec stepped into Jace’s room and sat down on the edge of his bed, his hands in his lap.

“Right.” Jace followed, sitting down beside his parabatai. He might have feelings for his best friend, but that didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that Alec was happy, and he wasn’t going to ruin that for him now. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Oh, before I forget, you left your stele in my room. I noticed it when I went back.” Alec handed the tool off to his friend and smiled, turning to see the photo that Jace had found on his desk. “Whoa, that photo is old.” He laughed, standing up and walking over to the desk, picking up the photo. He sighed to himself, he too remembering how things used to be. Simple compared to now.

“Yeah, I was looking for my stele but I guess you found it.” Jace shrugged, standing beside Alec now. “Things are a lot different than they used to be…” He trailed off, looking up at Alec.

“Doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing though, right?” Alec put the photo back down and turned his head to look at Jace. He knew things were good between them, and the one thing he hated was not being able to talk to Jace about things. Jace was one of the few people that Alec could rely on, and having him on his side was something he valued a lot.

“No, I guess that’s true.” Jace replied, folding his arms over his chest. Things were different for the better now, and Jace knew that. There was going to be a hard road ahead of them but he knew that he could do anything as long as he had Alec by his side, and Alec knew that too. Feelings aside and the issue of Valentine aside, things would work out. They always did…. right?


End file.
